Chef Billy Parisi Takes on Summer Grilling, Offers Creative Twists to Cookout Favorites

 ConAgra Foods partners with Chef Billy to create fresh grilling recipes and tips

OMAHA, Neb., May 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- As Memorial Day and the summer grilling season arrive, backyard barbecue artists are looking for new twists on the grilling classics. ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) and Chicago-based chef and popular food "vlogger" Billy Parisi (BillyParisi.com), have teamed up to create a collection of new recipes with fresh ingredients that will spice up summer grilling.

"When summer comes and the grill tops come off, many people are searching for new, creative dishes to prepare at backyard gatherings," said Parisi. "So many people know and love the ConAgra Foods ingredients that I'm using in these recipes. By adding a few other fresh ingredients, they can create a unique summer treat."

Taking traditional grilling to a new level, Chef Billy is featuring ConAgra Foods brands such as Hunt's®, Gulden's®, Ro*Tel® and La Choy® in simple, delicious recipes. Combining these brands with chicken, steak and popular produce from local farmers markets, his offerings range from Fire Roasted Potato Salad with Gulden's® Mustard Vinaigrette to Mini Sausage and Egg Breakfast Sandwiches with Queso. Chef Billy's new creations for the grill can be found at www.forkful.com.

"We're excited to partner with Chef Billy Parisi for an out-of-the-box grilling menu that's sure to impress grill masters and adventurous foodies," said Brett Groom, senior vice president for marketing at ConAgra Foods. "Chef Billy is mixing bold flavors with popular seasonal ingredients to transform traditional grilling into a delectable meal."

In addition to the new recipes, Chef Billy also offers his culinary tips and tricks to help consumers master the grill and impress friends and family at backyard cookouts this summer.

Prep Work and Grill Maintenance are the Keys to Success:

• Use a meat injection for a simple marinade: Simply puree together La Choy® soy sauce, Hunt's® diced tomatoes, onions, garlic, salt and pepper, and using a meat injector, inject it into different sections of the meat for an outstanding, bold flavor. 
• Use an ice cube to cool the grill to the right temperature: Foods like hot dogs and other meats kick up the flames under your grill and create extra heat. To help slowly cool the fire, place an ice cube where the flames are most intense to decrease the temperature without creating smoke clouds or putting out the fire altogether.

Baste the Look and Taste of Grilled Recipes:

• Brush proteins with vegetable spread to create more grill marks: Simply brush your chicken, steaks or hot dogs with melted vegetable spread just before flipping over to create attractive grill marks.
• Baste and sauce meat 5 to 7 minutes before removing from the grill: Whether it's a BBQ sauce, a sweet soy sauce, or mustard baste, it's important that meats cook long enough to get grill marks before basting. A common mistake is to baste too early in the grilling process; after grill marks appear, baste and sauce five to seven minutes before removing the meat from the grill.

Quick Clean-Up for Backyard Cookouts:

• Brush and spray to keep your grill clean: A clean grill makes cooking easier, in addition to spraying the grill with PAM® Grilling spray so food will not stick, brush the grill to remove old charred items from the grates. Use a crumpled piece of aluminum foil as an alternative to a grill brush.
• Use muffin tins for a creative serving tray – Instead of floating around several condiment bottles, fill a large cupcake or muffin pan with ketchup, mustard and relish with serving spoons.

ABOUT CONAGRA FOODS
ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) is one of North America's largest packaged food companies with branded and private branded food found in 99 percent of America's households, as well as a strong commercial foods business serving restaurants and foodservice operations globally. Consumers can find recognized brands such as Banquet®, Chef Boyardee®, Egg Beaters®, Healthy Choice®, Hebrew National®, Hunt's®, Marie Callender's®, Orville Redenbacher's®, PAM®, Peter Pan®, Reddi-wip®, Slim Jim®, Snack Pack® and many other ConAgra Foods brands, along with food sold by ConAgra Foods under private brand labels, in grocery, convenience, mass merchandise, club and drug stores. Additionally, ConAgra Foods supplies frozen potato and sweet potato products as well as other vegetable, spice, bakery and grain products to commercial and foodservice customers. ConAgra Foods operates ReadySetEat.com, an interactive recipe website that provides consumers with easy dinner recipes and more. For more information, please visit us at www.conagrafoods.com.

ABOUT CHEF BILLY PARISI
Billy Parisi has the education and experience of a seasoned chef. Parisi graduated from Arizona's Scottsdale Culinary Institute and the University of Missouri. He's also logged several years as line cook, sous chef, and executive in some of the Midwest's finest restaurants. Parisi has served as the faces of fixmyrecipe.com, Lowes Foods, Heinen's Grocery Stores and Sears Holdings Corporation. Parisi has been featured on several national TV, radio and print mediums, including the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, DIY network and Comcast On-Demand. For more information, please visit Billy at http://www.billyparisi.com/.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Morgan Shelton, Edelman
Morgan.Shelton@edelman.com; (312) 297-7050
Dan Skinner, ConAgra Foods
Dan.Skinner@conagrafoods.com; (630) 857-1508

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150519/217102

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150519/217103

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chef-billy-parisi-takes-on-summer-grilling-offers-creative-twists-to-cookout-favorites-300085687.html

SOURCE ConAgra Foods, Inc.